May 2011

May 05, 2011

After years of fishing we all have our favorite lures that we gravitate towards. These are lures that we may enjoy because they just happen to fit our fishing style. These may be baits that are known to catch quality fish day in and day out. Generally these baits have years under their belts. Every once in a while a new bait will hit the market and prove itself. Above and beyond that sometimes one out of ten lures of the same type just have "IT".

I first heard this phrase a few days after a met a good friend of mine Matt Allen. I was up at Clear Lake for one of the HBC (heavyweight Bass Classic) Tournaments. I had sold Matt one of my Snack Size Trout Floaters in chartreuse shad. Matt went out and threw the bait and thought it was a piece of shit. I saw Matt later that day on the water. We were fishing right next to each other, I caught a few fish right in front of his boat using that same piece of shit bait. Matt did not say anything at the time but apparently had put the Snack Size away about 10 minutes into fishing it. I talked to Matt a day later.He told me the next morning he went out and absolutely destroyed the bass on it. After watching me fish the bait he said had been going about it all wrong. This is when I first heard the phrase, that bait has "IT". Since then the phrase has been a regular part of my regular vocabulary. Better yet the Snack Size has become a regular part of Matt's arsenal.

As a bait designer and builder I realized even if they had no word for it before."IT" is what every bait builder is looking for. It does not matter if your a guy in the garage with a box full of jig parts or a multi million dollar company. Ultimately the goal is to build a lure that has "IT"

There are many lures in history that have proved to have "IT". Take the spinner bait for example. Ive been throwing these since I was a kid and ill probably will die with a box of them in my boat. The jig is one of these baits.You would be hard pressed not to find a box or two full of them in just about every bass boat. Every once in a while a new bait will come out and just have "IT". Some examples of this, the Senko, the Sweet Beaver, 6" Basstrix, just to name a few. Why is it that every once in a while we get a bait that out performs the other ten we own just like it? What gives that one bait "IT"? Could it be the thickness of the paint, the density of the plastic? Could it be the way we worked it back to the boat that particular day? Or could that ten pounder just not resist the factor of "IT"?

There are no magic bullets in bass fishing. I do believe there is a scientific approach to the factor of "IT. I have spent a lot of time thinking about this factor. I have worked it into my bait design and prototyping and really feel there is something to "IT"

How can we use the Factor of "IT" to make ourselves better anglers? I will do some follow ups on the Factor of "IT" and hopefully help you do just that. Till then tight lines and don't forget to think about "IT".

Here is a collection of photos from my swimbait fishing outings as well as friends and pics submitted by readers of the Wired Angler. Send me your big fish pics and the story that goes with it to me at wiredangler@gmail.com